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(Des Moines, IA) U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) received one of the more sought after endorsements in Iowa. Thursday morning Bob Vander Plaats, President and CEO of the FAMiLY Leader, threw his support behind the junior senator from Texas. Vander Plaats was also joined by Chuck Hurley, vice president of the FAMiLY Leader, and Robert Cramer, chairman of the FAMiLY Leader’s board.

The FAMiLY Leader as an organization declined to endorse a candidate choosing instead to be a standard bearer, they did release Vander Plaats, Hurley and Cramer to personally endorse a candidate.

“I happen to believe that the extra-ordinary leader we need for these extra-ordinary times is U.S. Senator Ted Cruz,” Vander Plaats announced a press conference held in the rotunda of the Iowa State Capitol Building.

Prior to the announcement, Vander Plaats noted that voters in Iowa were for some reason moving away from previous Iowa Caucus winners such as former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA).

Vander Plaats said that he, Hurley and Cramer would work to coalesce conservatives around Cruz.

“We will be united…. and we will be going all in for Senator Ted Cruz. We have found that he is a man of deep character, a man that we can fully trust, who has a consistency of his convictions who loves his God, loves his spouse and who loves his family. We also see him to be very, very competent, not always popular, but very competent. He has challenged both sides of the aisle. He understands what it is going to take to get the country out of the mess that we are currently in. We believe he is exceptionally competent and that adds to his extraordinary leadership,” Vander Plaats said.

“But we also have been very impressed with the campaign staff that he has assembled – the people he has put around him, his advisors. These are people who want to make a difference for this country and to right the ship, and we can’t wait to go to work with him. But we’ve also taken a look at the resources of Senator Ted Cruz, as you have seen in the polls he is beginning to rise. Not only do we believe he would be strong in Iowa, but we believe he will be strong in the early states, and we believe he can be the nominee to take on and defeat Hillary Clinton and the leftist agenda,” Vander Plaats added.

[Tweet “[email protected]: @tedcruz “can be the nominee to take on and defeat Hillary Clinton””]

“This is an endorsement that simultaneously sends a signal to political observers and motivates active Caucus voters,” said Cruz. “It’s more evidence that our campaign has momentum and is gaining ground heading into the final weeks of the Caucus. This endorsement also speaks to the grassroots activists who have delivered for the past couple of Iowa Caucus winners, that the time has come for us to coalesce. If we as conservatives come together in Iowa, and across the country, we will win.”